calibrate
Americanverb (used with object)
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to determine, check, or rectify the graduation of (any instrument giving quantitative measurements).
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to divide or mark with gradations, graduations, or other indexes of degree, quantity, etc., as on a thermometer, measuring cup, or the like.
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to determine the correct range for (an artillery gun, mortar, etc.) by observing where the fired projectile hits.
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to plan or devise (something) carefully so as to have a precise use, application, appeal, etc..
a sales strategy calibrated to rich investors.
verb
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to measure the calibre of (a gun, mortar, etc)
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to mark (the scale of a measuring instrument) so that readings can be made in appropriate units
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to determine the accuracy of (a measuring instrument, etc)
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to determine or check the range and accuracy of (a piece of artillery)
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To check, adjust, or standardize a measuring instrument, usually by comparing it with an accepted model.
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To measure the diameter of the inside of a tube.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of calibrate
Explanation
The word calibrate means making precise measurement. For example, you might want to calibrate your bathroom scale now and then to be sure it’s adjusted for exact weight. Or calibrate it to read five pounds light. We won't tell. To find the origin of calibrate, we must look at its root, caliber, which appeared in the late 15th-century Middle French as calibre, meaning "a degree of importance." Linguists trace that word to an Arabic beginning, the word qalib, which referred to a mold for making bullets. That meaning seems to have carried over to our word, the verb calibrate, which first meant to measure the range of a projectile such as a bullet or shell.
Vocabulary lists containing calibrate
The Fault in Our Stars
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"The Leap," Vocabulary from the short story
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The Invention of Hugo Cabret
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
They will have to figure out, as the aerospace industry did, how to calibrate their technologies for general use, adapted for different customer classes, price points and needs.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 22, 2026
So now we’re able to calibrate between the two eras and mix them, which is exciting.
From Los Angeles Times • May 18, 2026
These approaches could help calibrate systems more responsibly by testing how often an algorithm wrongly flags people or locations.
From Salon • May 12, 2026
"This is our first opportunity in flight to calibrate Psyche's imager with something bigger than a few pixels, and we'll also make observations with the mission's other science instruments."
From Science Daily • May 11, 2026
Very little effort was made to calibrate the experiments with plausible inorganic Martian surface materials.
From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
